That’s why the ESPN playbook reads: Lock up distribution deals while managing the costs of securing content.
“We have just gone through the tail end of a long-term extension of our distribution agreements,” says Sean Bratches, ESPN’s exec veep of sales and marketing. “We have done a similar cadence of deals on the content side, securing access to content for decades to come.”
For all its care over spending, it’s the fees paid by distribs that are most responsible for keeping ESPN ahead of the pack. According to SNL Kagan, this year, ESPN should get a whopping $5.54 per subscriber from its affiliates, plus another 70¢ per subscriber for ESPN2, 21¢ for ESPNews and 20¢ for ESPNU. Other networks’ per-sub returns seem comparatively paltry: 33¢ for NBC Sports Network; 20¢ for CBS Sports Network.